The Art of the Button Basher

Sunday, 14 March 2010

My idea based on game character agencies that I wrote got published in March 2010 issue of "Edge" magazine. "Edge" were kind enough to mock up this image to illustrate the content of my letter.

Dear Edge Magazine,

After reading both Brick Bardo’s article, ‘Something about Japan, in issue 211 along with the rather critical response letter by Phil Asquith that followed in issue 212, I felt compelled to write a response as I find it to be a very interesting topic for games.

I agree entirely with Brick Bardo; with the right developer and publisher, we could see a variety of forms in which our well loved game characters are expressed within vastly different genres and game worlds. If we look at Smash Bros Brawl; where even though the concept may have been inspired from the appeal of pitting game characters from other worlds into one fight, you cannot argue the sheer joy of watching Solid Snake throw a poke'ball at Sonic whilst wearing a rabbit headband.

But this has got me thinking further. What if, and please bear with me, we have in the game industry; what would essentially be an agency company that creates or otherwise owns an archive of game characters, who then nurtures them to fame through roles in games commisioned by the games developers and/or publishers? Before you call me crazy, please think of the advantages here. It would have the potential of creating a digital network community of approachable game characters or actors that are at the disposal of their paying developers and publishers or clients, who in turn, could put the ready made fame of this game character to good use by creating a new and interesting role for he, she or it to play. With the prior knowledge of an already famous game character, it would help to combat the daunting effects that players often suffer when playing a brand new game concept for the first time. Would the new Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory films earn as much recognition and hype before release, without a certain Captain Jack Sparrow quality?

Perhaps this system wouldn't become fully established over night due to rights and ownerships over existing game characters today, but rather be a gradual process as new characters build on their fame through roles in various games over multiple platforms. Until then, in Brick Bardo's words; '...we'll just have to wait - but afterwards we can tell everyone we saw it coming.'

Friday, 12 March 2010

This is a brand new game idea of mine. The I:PIE is a robot oven that can cook things by itself, in particular: PIES! The game is a 2d puzzle platformer where cakes and pies and other baked goods need to be whipped up in order to help transgress the obstacles in the levels.

For example: In order to travel over steep ramps, the oven can bake cookies, and then stand on them. Thus using the cookies as wheels and projecting itself quickly over the ramp.

Another example: In order to drop down a large drop to a lower platform, a giant soft cake can be baked and chucked down. The robot can then jump down and land on this cake, which softens the blow.

This is the artwork I provided when asked to do some advertisement work for the company I currently for called "Ringgo." This company offers an alternative method to parking their vehicle, other than using ticket machines. Customers can instead, ring up or pay online using their debit or credit card.

I had two distinct ideas for this advertisement; one rather simple, that brings a ticket machine to life and gives it character- the other, which uses abstract visuals to illistrate the benefit of speed in parking using Ringgo.

My superiors preferred the ticket machine idea and are currently in discussion with associates on the posibilites of getting TV advertisement commissioned based on this artwork.

This is a game I'm still working on in my spare time called "Twig." The object of this game is to guide your twig from start to finish by drawing wind tunnels that flow the twig across the level.You can collect leaves along the way- the more leaves, the prettier your twig looks, and you need to avoid nasty obstacles: birds, spiders and rose thorns.

This idea emerged from playing Iphone games, and if this ever does get finished, it would suite the Iphone platform the most I feel.

This is perhaps the most silly idea for a game I've ever had. It's a game based on the concept that made Pacman so successful; the player is hunted at first but after aquiring a pickup, he or she becomes the hunter. In this case, the player is a cigarette being hunted by a gang of violent non- smokers. The pickup is a lighter, which you use to light yourself, before hunting the non- smokers, forcing them to smoke you before your cigarette completely burns out.

This is an animation project I worked on in my spare time, sadly unfinished at present. It's a tragic love story set from within a tetris game machine as it's being played. The tragic love ignites between two tetris piecs as they struggle to unite together- fighting the machine that forces them to play their role in the tetris game against their own will.

The weird wirey bug things are the tiny forms of life that govern the inside workings of tetris. They make the pieces and control the game flow.